Black Cats and Calla Lilies
by selenaxo
Summary: AU Laura has seen a black cat out her window every night since she was six. This cat became part of her childhood; a protective, watchful eye always there for reasons unknown. But when Betty goes missing and replaced with the roommate from hell, why does she get that same protective feeling? And why does she have this constant feeling around campus of being watched?
1. Chapter 1

**Authors note: hey everyone! :) I had the idea for this fanfic in a dream. I originally planned to write this as some short little one shot, but it turned into this super long multi-chapter fic that I think is far enough developed by now to share it with all of you. Just so you know: even though from the beginning it may seem a little slow in the romance department, there will be LOTS of Hollstein moments to come. Its just that the story needs to be set up. Anyway, I really hope you enjoy!**

**ps this chapter is much longer than normal chapters, they will be much shorter**

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><p><em>six years old<em>

There was excitement in the air as 6-year-old Laura Hollis ran down the block towards her house. The last of the other trick-or-treaters were going back to their houses as well. Halloween night was coming to a close, and Laura had had the best Halloween yet. She had so much candy her arm hurt from carrying it.

As she ran, she had to occasionally fix her black wig and straighten out her dark clothes- being Wednesday Addams was harder than Laura had thought it would be.

"Laura, sweetie! Slow down!" called out her dad. "I don't want you to trip!"

Laura rolled her eyes, her pace not changing. She giggled as she bounded up her front steps. Her dad finally made it over to the door to unlock it.

"I can't wait to count how much candy I got!" Laura exploded. She started jumping up and down. "I bet I got a _million_ pieces! Dontcha think, Daddy? Dontcha?"

"Mhm, I'm sure you did. Now, stop jumping up and down, before you hurt yourself. And don't eat too much candy!"

Laura ran inside and up the stairs, saying hello to the witch decoration in the hallway as she always did before running into her room and closing her door. She spilled the contents of her bag onto her blue rug, orange and yellow and red wrappers creating an inferno of candy that practically engulfed the carpet. Laura took off her costume, changed into her Halloween pajamas, and began to count each piece out loud as best as she could. 'One, two, three…"

Something flashed in the window out of the corner of Laura's eye just as she was about to unwrap a Reeses peanut butter cup. She got up and slowly walked over to her window, crawling up on the comfy chair beneath it so she could peer outside. Out of sheer surprise, Laura gasped and ducked down.

Just outside her window was a large oak tree, one that had always loomed in her front yard. And in this tree, looking right into her window, was a small black cat. Laura knew that black cats, especially on Halloween, were never a good sign. As Laura cautiously looked out her window again, she got a better sight of its round, yellow eyes that pierced the darkness. It was too small to be full grown, but it wasn't quite a kitten. It had a deep red collar around its neck, but instead of a tag there was a silvery sun charm hanging from it, like it was a fashionable necklace hanging around the cat's neck. Its thick, midnight-black fur was tinged with the light of the full moon, and it unwaveringly stared into Laura's bedroom window.

At first, Laura felt afraid. Should she go get her dad? But as she continued to stare at it, and it continued to stare back, she realized that this little thing was harmless. "Aw," said Laura, smiling. "You're kinda cute." With that, the cat's whiskers quivered, and Laura could swear that the cat had just smiled at her, yellow eyes beaming. Laura began to laugh, hoping this wouldn't scare it away. But the cat didn't budge- it seemed as though nothing could make it move from that spot, perched on the sturdy, knotted oak branch.

"I guess people are wrong about black cats," Laura sighed. "They don't seem so scary or unlucky after all!"

Suddenly, her dad walked in. "Hi, Laura." He noticed where she was sitting. "What are you doing? Why aren't you counting your candy?"

"Daddy!" She jumped down and sprinted over to him. "Come look! There's a black cat outside my window!"

She took his hand and walked him over. "Look! See? Its right…"

But the cat was no longer there. Laura scrunched up her face in confusion. "But… it was just there…"

Her dad gave her a disbelieving look. "Are you making things up again? I still don't believe your whole 'bear in the closet' spiel."

"No! I swear! It was right there…" Laura suddenly felt an emptiness in her stomach. She looked down, upset, and muttered. "Nevermind."

"It's okay, sweetheart. You know I love meeting your imaginary friends."

"But Daddy, this wasn't ima…" But Laura just let out a frustrated sigh, giving up, knowing her dad wouldn't believe her.

He smiled and pulled her into a hug. "Goodnight, Laura. Don't forget to brush your teeth." With that, he stood and left, closing the baby blue door behind him.

Laura was sad. Why had the cat left? She felt a tear slide down her cheek. She suddenly felt so… lonely without the cat. So vulnerable. So afraid. She climbed back up, looking out the window, expecting to see an empty tree once again.

Laura caught her breath. Happiness swirled inside her, filling the empty pit in her stomach. A grin stretched across her face.

Two yellow eyes were staring back at her, unblinking and as round as saucers. And Laura had never felt happier. Suddenly, the candy felt so unimportant to her as she ran over to her cabinet and pulled out a piece of paper, and a black, yellow, and red crayon. She ran over to the window and began to draw the cat. When her masterpiece was done, she held it to the window, for the cat to see. Once again, she could have sworn its slick black lips upturned ever so slightly into a smile. Laura looked over her masterpiece again and grinned.

"This really _is_ the best Halloween ever!"

_eight years old_

"Ready or not, here I come!" called out the dark-haired boy standing in the wood chips of the playground. He uncovered his wide green eyes and began to run around, searching for the other hidden kids.

Laura could barely contain her giggles. She was hiding behind a big, wide tree, in the forest that surrounded the playground, and when Sam Greeneberg came looking for her she'd switch trees stealthily. He'd never find her in a trillion years! Laura thought her plan was absolutely genius.

Just as Laura began to cautiously peer around the tree, a voice rang in her ears.

"Hey."

Laura jumped, her head whipping around to see a girl about her age standing in front of her. She had long, wavy dark brown hair and soulful brown eyes. She was wearing skintight black skinny jeans, lace up combat boots, and a shirt that read 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer.' Her arms, adorning lace-up fingerless gloves, were crossed and her lips slightly pouty. She looked like she was dressed as if she was several years older that she looked.

"Hi," Laura squeaked, a little intimidated. She had never seen this girl in the park before. She usually knew every kid on the playground, due to how frequently she came and how close she lived to the park. "I haven't seen you before. ...Are you playing hide and seek with us?"

"Ah, is that why you're hiding behind this tree? I was wondering." The girl had a deep, smooth voice that was sweet to Laura's ears.

Laura couldn't help but smile. This girl seemed so mature and cool. And something about her seemed familiar… but she couldn't put her finger on it.

"So, who are we hiding from?" the girl asked. Laura grinned when she referred to them as 'we.' She loved making new friends.

Laura pointed to Sam and whispered her response. "See that skinny boy with the dark hair? That's Sam Greeneberg. He's it this round. He isn't the best at finding, though- he has pretty bad eyesight. So when he starts to come over here I'm gonna make a run for the next tree." She began to giggle. "He'll never find us!"

The girl smirked, pulling at her red choker necklace, the silver sun hanging from it glinting in the sunlight. "I like the way you think," she whispered back. "But, we don't _need_ to run to the next tree. I know a way for him to never see us without moving from this tree at all."

Laura was about to question her, but noticed Sam making his way over. "He's coming!" she muttered.

The dark-haired girl grabbed Laura's hand, her eyes not leaving Sam. "Just follow my lead."

Laura tried to contain her giggles. This was so exciting!

Sam bustled over noisily, tripping over his own lanky body every few steps. As he approached their tree and began walking around, the girl lead Laura silently around, always being on the opposite side of the tree from wherever Sam was. _Genius!_ Laura thought. _This is way better than my idea!_

Sam stopped in his tracks when Laura accidentally stepped on a twig, snapping it loudly. She and the dark-haired girl stood stock still as the boy contemplated what to do next. Laura, being a bit clumsy once again, took a tiny step back, and yet again snapped a twig.

"I can hear you!" Sam exclaimed. He suddenly began to sprint around the tree; but the dark-haired girl anticipated this, starting to run just before he started, still clasping Laura's hand and leading her along. Sam began to slow down and stop, as well as they did, and the girl stooped down and grabbed a rock. She wound up and chucked it as far as she could to the right, its landing making a loud rustle and _thud!_ noise in the distance. Sam, giving up on trying to find them, snapped his head in the direction of the sound, and sprinted off after it. They moved to the left as he did this. Once he was out of range, Laura tried her best to hold back her hysterical giggles, but it wasn't working. She had to throw a hand over her mouth.

"That was so cool!" Laura said between laughs. "I felt like a ninja!"

The girl chuckled and looked down. "That _was_ really fun, wasn't it?"

Laura's giggle fit calmed down eventually, and the two suddenly realized they were still holding hands. Laura swore she noticed the girl blush as she unlaced her gloved hand from Laura's.

Laura simply grinned. "By the way, I'm Laura. What's your name?" She asked, just now realizing she had no idea what it was.

The girl flicked her dark eyes up and smirked. "Well, now, I have to keep some of my secrets. Otherwise I'll lose my air of mystery, won't I?"

Laura felt shivers go down her spine. She slowly raised an eyebrow. _Wow, this girl is so awesome… but kinda creepy and weird,_ Laura thought. _What does 'air of mystery' even mean? And why does she feel so weirdly familiar…? _She was about to question her when she heard her dad's voice coming from the benches near the playground. "Laura! Time to go! It's time for your Krav Maga lesson!"

Laura sighed, looking around to see if Sam was in near proximity. "Dad always blows my cover during hide and seek every time," she grumbles.

Laura noticed that the girl looked very disappointed that she had to leave. She grabbed Laura's hand and gave her a small smile with her delicate, rose-petal lips. "Goodbye, Laura. I'm afraid we won't meet again for a while. At least… not like this."

Laura gave her a quizzical look. "What? What do you mean?"

But she just smiled and pulled her into a quick hug. Laura breathed in her scent; it was floral and fresh. Laura smiled, said goodbye, and walked away, tucking a piece of blonde hair behind her ear. Laura had only taken a few steps before she turned around to really try and find out her name. "Hey-"

But she was already gone.

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><p><strong>Please review, favorite, comment, whatever- I want to know if i should continue this :)<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Thought I might as well just post the next chapter since its good and ready :) enjoy!**

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><p><em>eight years old- same day as the end of chapter 1<em>

Laura sat down on her comfy chair and sighed, massaging her split lip. After her Krav Maga lesson had finished, on the walk back home, Raquel Waters had just happened to pass by her. Raquel was her school's big-time bully since kindergarten. Laura never really hated anyone- except for this girl. Raquel was riding her perfect pink bike, streamers flying in the wind with two of her ghoulish friends when she rode past Laura on the sidewalk, stopped, and began to tease her. Anger had welled up inside of her body. No one, and she meant _no one_, made Laura felt such strong hatred as she did. She was usually a very calm and level-headed person but suddenly Laura had turned around and socked Raquel square in the jaw. Laura felt pretty proud of herself, but then realized that Raquel was much bigger and taller than her—and she was outnumbered. Before she could turn and run, Raquel punched her in the mouth, and Laura fell down. She fled the scene before Raquel and her friends could hurt her any more.

Laura had put her hood up when she walked in so her dad wouldn't see her bloody mouth, and ran upstairs, muttering a quick greeting. Which led to her sitting down on her chair.

It was dark now. Laura had moved to her bed and was reading a book when she realized something. She jumped out of bed and hurried toward the couch, kneeling on it to gaze out the window.

As always, there was the full-grown black cat, perched on the same branch, staring at her with the same round yellow eyes. It always gave Laura comfort to see this cat outside her window, watching over her, always there. She gazed out at it when she was bored or having a bad day, or simply needed someone to talk to. She smiled at it, and, as usual, it seemed as though it smiled back.

"I guess this isn't such a bad day after all," she sighed. "I played in the park, I met a new friend…"

A realization hit Laura like a giant meteorite hitting the earth; meaning, it was quite an explosive realization. Laura squinted her eyes at the cat, making sure she was correct, and then widened them, her jaw dropping.

The collar the black cat was wearing was _exactly_ like the one the girl was wearing earlier that day.

_eleven years old_

Laura stifled her sobs as she hoisted herself up onto the roof. It was evening, the sun just about to set, and Laura and her father had just gotten into a fight about whether she could go out and meet up with her friends. He was refusing, saying it was 'much too dangerous to walk around at this time of night,' even though it was only evening. She had yelled at him to stop treating her like she was five years old, she was almost twelve and could take care of herself enough to walk the ten minutes it takes to get to the mall and meet up with her friends.

"Stupid over-protective dad," she muttered, sitting down on the top of her roof and hugging her knees. "I don't need you. Just like I don't need Mom. Whoever the heck she might be…"

Laura watched the sunset, the sky slowly turning beautiful shades of orange and pink, and eventually fading out into black. The stars twinkled up above, and Laura felt as if she could watch the sky forever.

Suddenly, Laura heard a sound. She perked up her head as movement came from the edge of her roof. Squinting in the darkness, Laura struggled to see what it was, but before her eyes adjusted, those vividly yellow eyes easily gave it away.

Laura blinked for a few moments, her heart pounding in her chest, and she wasn't sure what to do. She had never seen the cat anywhere but perched in that same place in the oak tree branches before. Laura had noticed the past few months that it was becoming harder for the cat to sit in the same crevice of the tree branch due to its increasing size, despite the fact that it looked like a normal-sized cat when she was around eight or nine, but still continued to grow after that. By now, the cat was much bigger than the size of an average house cat. She estimated, something she had learned to do in math class, that the cat would weigh around 25 pounds, maybe more.

She almost couldn't believe her eyes as it slowly sauntered up to her. She felt scared for a moment, then remembered what this was; it was the cat that had been watching over her for almost half her life. It would never harm her. Laura relaxed her tense muscles a little after thinking this in her head.

The cat cautiously sat down next to her, laying down and resting its head on its large black paws, closing its eyes. Laura had never, ever seen the cat so close before. It was an incredible sight. It excited her, yet comforted and calmed her all at the same time. Her brain was clean from the stressful fight she and her dad had just hours ago. She smiled, laying her back flat on the roof and gazed up at the stars, wondering how some glowing dots in the sky so incredibly far away could be so trustworthy. You could always count on them being there every single night, gleaming in the sky.

Laura realized there were only two constant things like this in her life; the cat, and the stars. And she was starting to think there wasn't much of a difference between the two; they were both breathtakingly beautiful.


	3. Chapter 3

_thirteen years old_

"Come on, Laura, you HAVE to answer," said Callie. "Truth or dare?"

It was Laura's 13th birthday party, and Laura was freaking out. She was usually the person to pick truth- she hated dares. But what if Callie asked her who she liked? Laura was _not_ about to admit to the 6 other 7th graders sitting cross-legged in front of her that she had a crush on Sophie Gilmore.

She darted her eyes around her dark living room, trying to think of the smartest answer. "Fine," Laura breathed. "I choose… dare."

Jacqueline Rodriguez giggled. "This is gonna be good," she whispered to Casey Tanaka.

Callie smiled. "I dare you to… go out into that forest out there, and stay there for… at _least_ five minutes." She pointed out Laura's sliding glass back door, into the patch of looming pine trees that had taunted her since she was a young girl.

Laura sucked in her breath. "What? No! That forest is so creepy. I am so not doing that."

"You have to. It's a dare," demanded Ruby Albern. "Come _on,_ Laura. You're a teenager now. Besides, it's just some trees!"

Everyone was giggling. Laura hated it. They all sounded so stupid. These girls weren't even really her friends anyway. At least, it didn't feel like it. It all just felt so fake. Everything in middle school did. She couldn't wait to grow up.

"Fine," Laura sighed. "But I'm only standing out there for five minutes. That's it!"

They all walked to the door. Laura opened it and walked outside.

"Good luck, and don't die…" Callie said in a fake mysterious voice. Laura rolled her eyes. They were all giggling again. Ew.

Laura made her way to the trees, realizing halfway she was in her pajamas, barefoot. She winced at every sharp twig or pebble she stepped on but chose to ignore it. Slowly, cautiously, she was swallowed by the dark looming trees.

Laura made her way in a little further and stood in the forest, turning to face the direction of her house. She could barely make out the soft glow of the lights seeping dimly through the incredibly dense branches of the trees around her.

After about thirty seconds, Laura heard a snap come from behind her. She whipped around, not able to see very well in the darkness. "D-don't come any closer!" Laura yelled out. "I...I know Krav Maga!"

"Your dad is _still_ making you go to that?"

Laura jumped from the sudden voice, a sharp, "AH!" escaping her lips, throwing he hands out in front of her. Her eyes focused on the person who had just spoken, and she suddenly gasped.

Standing in front of her was the girl from the day she played hide and seek about a million years ago, when she used to go to the park. Her overall style was the same, but she looked so much older, so much more mature. Her jawline was more cut, her voice much deeper, and her style was a little more truly alternative than what she wore at eight years old.

Laura felt her cheeks redden. _Wow. I was too young to notice how pretty this girl was before, but now…_

"Y...you," Laura stuttered. "I haven't seen you since we met all those years ago. It's been so long. What are you doing out here?"

The girl smirked. "The real question that should be asked here is what are _you_ doing out here, in the forest at this time of night?" she countered.

"My friends dared me," Laura growled. "They're so stupid. None of them are really my friend- they're so fake. All they care about is boys and makeup and popularity. I don't care about any of that."

Laura couldn't read the sudden emotional expression in the dark-haired girl's eyes. It was passion, sorrow, so many things she didn't understand. But the girl simply nodded. "Yeah," she agreed. "All of that stuff is pretty pointless."

Laura nodded, then suddenly noticed the girl was bleeding. She had a scratch across the bridge of her nose and her lip was bleeding. The purpleness surrounding her eye indicated a pretty severe black eye. "Are you okay? You look hurt."

The girl held up her hand, as if to say 'that is so irrelevant right now that I don't even need to explain it to you'. There was a long pause in which the two just stared at each other before the girl spoke up again. "Look, Laura, I came here to tell you that you might not see me again for a while and I'm really sorry. There's business I desperately need to take care of. But…" She took a step closer. "But when you look out your window at night, I hope you still think of me and know I'll still be watching over you. Just know that I'll always be protecting you, no matter what."

Laura's brain was flooded with confusion. "Wait… what? What are you talking about? What do you mean?"

She looked down with her big, brown eyes. "I think you know exactly what I mean."

Laura's mind stopped. _No,_ she thought. The thought she had just had was too crazy to even consider. _Looking out my window, watching over me and protecting me, she couldn't possibly mean…?_

Before Laura had time to react, the girl leaned in and pecked her on the cheek. "Goodbye, Laura. At least for now." And as quickly as she came, the girl turned around and ran off.

Laura was paralyzed from shock. She still couldn't register the information given to her. In fact, it wasn't _possible_ to register. Laura shook her head. Of _course_ this girl wasn't the black cat. That would be crazy. She had to be talking about something else when she said 'when you look out your window at night.' Some crazy, ridiculous coincidence.

...Right?

When Laura was done mentally freaking out, (both about the black cat thing and the oh lord the _kiss),_ she finally convinced herself that she was being crazy and walked back inside after realizing she had been in the forest well over five minutes. Her friends had asked her what happened and she simply responded, "Nothing. Nothing out of the ordinary happened at all."

The rest of the night felt surreal. All she could think about was the girl and what she had said. She still didn't even know this girls name, and she was the only thing on her mind. When her friends were all finally asleep on her bedroom floor cocooned in their sleeping bags late into the night, Laura crawled onto her worn-out comfy chair and looked out the window, her heart sinking into the bottom of her stomach.

The cat wasn't there.


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed/followed/favorited! I really appreciate it, especially reviews they mean a lot. Enjoy this long chapter!**

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><p><em>seventeen years old<em>

Laura sighed, walking along the sidewalk and listening to the the wet, yellow leaves shift under her feet. Everything was damp, even the heavy, humid air that smelled musty and of fresh, sweet rain.

As Laura made her way back to her house, Laura caught herself daydreaming. She was days away from turning 18, and getting out of the hell hole that was high school in a few short months, and she was beyond ecstatic to be accepted to Silas University. But that wasn't stopping her from having really bad days almost every day in high school. Everyone around her didn't feel real, didn't feel genuine to themselves at all. All Laura wanted was to go to college, get out of her small town, and be free to be who she wanted without being judged or bullied for it.

Laura sucked in her breath as something caught her attention from across the street. Her heart rate rapidly increased until it felt like her heart was pumping fire through her blood at the sight. On the other side of the road was the black cat. It was sitting nonchalantly, in the light of the evening, next to a bench.

The first thing Laura noticed was its size. Apparently, this thing never stopped growing. It was now the size of a small German shepherd. What kind of house cat could grow to this size, and could continue to grow for this long?

The next thing Laura noticed was the unmistakable way it was smirking at her and its yellow eyes gleaming mischievously in the evening light.

Laura tried to get a better look, but in the blink of an eye a bus drove by, blocking her view, and when it had passed, the cat was gone.

_Holy crap, _Laura thought. _It's official. High school is driving me into insanity._

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><p>When Laura found herself waking up in pitch blackness, it only took her moments to realize she was in a dream. She couldn't see a thing around her. She wasn't even certain she was sitting on a bed until she felt the blankets suddenly weighing down on her body, a feeling she swore she hadn't felt just moments ago.<p>

"Hello?" she called out, sitting up. There was a reverse echo effect on her voice, where she was able to hear her voice getting louder before she even made a sound. Everything was so unclear and confusing around her. She wrapped her arms around herself, only realizing now that she was wearing nothing but underwear and a white tank top, and she had no idea why.

She almost screamed when she felt a cold hand touch her shoulder. She whipped around, expecting someone scary and evil to be grabbing her shoulder and trying to pull her in to eat her or kill her.

The sight that greeted her was the complete opposite.

Kneeling next to her, hand on her shoulder, face just a foot away from her own, was the dark-haired, mysterious girl from the forest all those years ago. Laura had immediately known it was her even though she looked so much different, so much older and more grown up, just like how she looked older when she was thirteen in comparison to when she was eight. Except this change felt different, more drastic. The girl was dressed in a cut-up black and red top and the tightest pair of black leather pants she had ever seen in her life. Her eyeliner was smudgy and dark, and her lips a delicate shade of red, as well as the ever-familiar choker necklace with the silver sun charm hanging onto her neck.

Laura's heart began to beat. The fuzzy, confusing surroundings around her felt less overwhelming and more comforting now that she was here.

Laura couldn't help but grin. "You again," she breathed out.

The girl smirked and began to trace invisible patterns on Laura's shoulder, sending shivers down her spine. "Hey, cutie."

Laura's blush hit her face like an oncoming train as she realized how little clothing she herself was wearing. But in this moment, she didn't care one bit. She was busy getting lost in those dark eyes…

Laura tried to make coherent sentences come out of her mouth, but couldn't, for the girl began to lean forward and inch closer as Laura scooted back, a bit terrified of her own overwhelming feelings. All she could get out was, "The forest… long time ago… you left."

"Let's forget about the past for a moment, shall we?" she said, leaning into her more and more, her voice a deep tone of pure seduction. The girl was now pushing Laura down with the hand that was still on her shoulder, and Laura was surprised how easily she gave into the pressure.

The dark-haired girl now had one arm next to each side of Laura's head, staring down at her. Slowly, she lowered herself down, closing the mere inches of space they had between their bodies.

She was completely on top of her. And Laura's heart had never beat faster in her life.

The girl's hands began to run down Laura's side. When she hit the patch of smooth, exposed skin between Laura's shirt and underwear, Laura twitched. The corner of the girl's mouth shot upward, her fingers tracing circles lightly on her skin.

She moved her face to the right side of Laura's jaw, whispering, "I've missed watching over you every night," before lightly kissing her jaw. Laura let out a whimper, which only made the girl chuckle. Laura tried to respond to her, but deemed it useless to even try. She could feel the girl's tight leather pants brushing against her bare legs, her hips placed over Laura's and moving just slightly, driving her insane…

"You know, you're beautiful when you sleep," she said, leaning her forehead into the right side of Laura's forehead. "I sometimes think I should have never left…"

Laura was trying to pay attention to what she was saying, but due to the fact that the girls hands were now actively running down her body and her hips were moving so _suggestively_ Laura couldn't pay attention to much else. She tried to talk but it only came out as a small moan.

The girl laced her fingers through Laura's blonde hair, pulling Laura's head closer to hers. She was looking her in the eyes, their mouths only inches apart. Softly, barely audibly, the girl whispered, "But I'm coming back soon, cupcake. I promise. I'm sorry I left. I want to see you again. Every night."

Laura was just starting to get the strength to respond when Laura suddenly jolted upright, her eyes flying open. She looked around, recognizing her room and that it was was breathing heavily and sweat coated her arms and shoulders. Ecstasy pumped in her veins as she relished in the feeling of that dream, how realistic it was...

But every second that Laura was awake, details of the dream began to fade, slipping away, despite the fact that her brain desperately clung to the dream, relishing in every sweet, sexual moment. But by the time she was walking downstairs to make pancakes for breakfast, the only thing she could possibly remember was a cold hand, touching her shoulder.

_six months later (eighteen years old)_

Laura was doing some last-minute packing up, preparing for her journey to the college of her dreams in Styria, Austria, at 11:30pm, when she saw it.

Laura dropped the box she was holding and sprinted over to her window, feeling the emptiness in the room when had to kneel on the floor instead of her comfy chair; her dad had thrown it out a few weeks ago without her consent because it had become 'too worn out and disgusting.' Laura had never cried harder in her life.

But she wasn't entirely preoccupied with that at the moment, because sitting in the tree, entirely much too big now for the crevice in the oak tree branches, was the black cat. It was as large as when she had seen it for a split second across the street several months ago. Its yellow eyes remained unblinking, bright and piercing through the veil of the heavily dark night. She couldn't believe it was here; the last time it had been was the night before her 13th birthday party. She had missed this cat so much it had hurt, but now it felt as if a piece of her broken heart had melded back together. Everything felt surreal, happy, peaceful, stable…

Suddenly Laura burst into spontaneous laughter. The happiness she was feeling was so infectious it was causing her to laugh. And when she was calming down, she looked up at the cat and smiled the biggest, most genuine smile she had ever smiled in her whole life, and said, "Thank you for being a part of my life. You make me feel so important, and happy, when no one else could. You mean the world to me."

And as usual, the cat reacted like it always used to- by twitching its whiskers and giving her one of those unmistakable smiles.

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><p><strong>By the next chapter, Laura will be at Silas. Hope you like it!<strong>


	5. Chapter 5

_Silas University- 9 weeks into term 1 (age nineteen)_

"Ahhgggsssss," Laura hissed softly as she pressed the hydrogen peroxide to her wounded neck.

She couldn't believe any of this was happening. How was one even capable of getting strange puncture wounds on their neck at a party one night, and not remembering a thing about how said person had received them the next morning?

Of course, she was leaving out the part that the night before, she was drunk out of her mind.

The night prior to finding weird and painful marks on her neck, Laura and her roommate Betty had gone out to a party that the Zeta's had been hosting, which took some major convincing from Betty to get Laura to stop studying and out of the dorm on a Friday night. At the party, Betty had convinced her into taking a few too many shots, and, well, Laura knew from past high school experiences that Jagermeister _really_ fucked with her brain. She couldn't remember a thing, except for distant laughing, and an unfamiliar guy approaching her.

And.. something else. Something really strange. A feeling of sharp, fiery pain, infused with… sensual, passionate pleasure. A feeling completely indescribable and beyond words.

Laura shook her head, rolling her eyes at herself. It was probably just the Jagermeister.

Laura looked over at Betty's empty bed and sighed. When Laura had woken up, the painful migraines from her massive hangover crashing down upon her, she had almost immediately noticed Betty was gone. She called Betty, but she was just getting voicemail. And then she found the strangest note next to her bed.

_Dear Student, Your roommate no longer attends Silas University…_

After many phone calls, Laura had just about given up. No one seemed to even care a _little_ that Betty was gone. What was wrong with this school sometimes? Laura assumed she would never know. And suddenly she had realized the marks on her neck- which led her to standing in front of the bathroom mirror, dabbing the two holes with hydrogen peroxide.

A strange thought crossed Laura's mind. These puncture wounds looked a little bit like… _bite marks._

A shiver was sent down Laura's spine. She shook her head. That was a ridiculous thought. She probably just had some sort of accident last night. She put bandages over the wounds and walked over to her bed, laying down to ease her hangover.

She couldn't believe how little the people in charge around here cared about what happened to Betty. She had just disappeared, and that strange note didn't make sense at all! Maybe she could ask that TA Danny for some advice, because anyone over the age of 25 didn't seem to care or question at all about the sometimes insane things that happened around campus.

Suddenly, the door to the dorm swung open, and in walked… a girl. Just about Laura's age, with medium-length wavy brown hair, sideswept bangs partially covering her dark eyes, and extremely tight… and _revealing_ black leather pants. She had a backpack slung over her shoulder which she casually dumped onto Betty's bed with a bored expression.

Out of sheer confusion, Laura stayed silent as this stranger acted as if everything was completely normal and she had been living here for weeks. But after a decent-sized pause, Laura caved in.

"Um, excuse me, but who exactly might you be?"

The girl looked over at her, as if she was just realizing she was there. A smirk tugged at the corner of her mouth and her dark eyes twinkled with mischief. She took a can of grape soda from the fridge and opened it with a loud pop.

"Carmilla," she responded simply, before taking a sip and returning her eyes back on her backpack, walking over and unpacking what little possessions she had.

Laura was even more confused than she was before. She knit her eyebrows together, her mouth open and face scrunched.

This so-called Carmilla looked back at her, seeing her confusing, amusement lighting up her eyes. "You're new roommate?"

"_New roommate?_" Laura almost yelled. "I don't need a new roommate! I need to know what the heck happened to my old one!"

Carmilla shrugged. "Hell if I know," she said, flinging her backpack across the room and laying down on the bed to relax. "Or care."

Laura was still too hungover to feel much anger, but a sense of sheer annoyance spread like wildfire through her body. _Who the hell does this girl think she is?_

"Well, I care," Laura responded, standing up. "And I'm gonna find her."

Carmilla scoffed. "Good luck with that, short stack."

Laura felt offended. She hated when people commented on her height.

"And when I do, I'm kicking you out," Laura retorted.

"Sounds like a plan."

Laura's skin was itching with irritation. This girl was seriously getting on her nerves. But there was also a strange feeling of… familiarity. Like somehow she knew this girl. Suddenly, the feeling became overpowering; the way Carmilla's bangs swept over her deep brown eyes, the leather pants, her annoying little smirks and glances over at Laura- she felt like she had known this girl before.

"Do I..." Laura began. "...Have we met? You seem familiar."

Carmilla opened her eyes, glanced over at the blonde and shrugged. "Never seen you before in my life." Suddenly, she smirked, a... flirtatious?... look sparkling in her eyes. "And I'd remember a cute face like yours if I had met you before, cupcake."

Laura blushed a little, and she wasn't sure why, because this girl was clearly a flirting machine; she probably was like this to everyone.

Despite what the brunette had said, Laura couldn't shake the feeling like she had definitely met Carmilla before. Maybe recently, or years and years ago... She wasn't sure. She shook her head of the feeling.

Over the course of the next few days, the familiarity always tugged at the back of her mind. But she always shoved the feeling aside, because she figured if she really knew Carmilla previously she would have remembered how _extremely_ annoying and terrible of a person she was. In just an 18-hour span of time since Carmila had arrived, the mysterious brunette had managed to sleep until 3 in the afternoon every day, then messily threw her few belongings around the room, refusing to clean them when Laura insisted. She didn't listen to anything that the chore wheel indicated was her turn to do, like clean sink in the bathroom, because she claimed it was 'passive-aggressive and a waste of her time.'

Then, by the time it was evening, she was out of the room, leather pants, eyeliner and all, saying she had 'business to take care of, cutie.' How annoyingly mysterious is that? And she didn't return until 6am the next day, where one morning she had loudly barged in with a study partner, (like Carmilla studied for anything…) waking Laura up from her sleep. Laura would have to get up to kick the study partner, a brunette named Jasmine, out of her room, ignoring Carmilla's protests.

"Oh, come on, Laura. Lighten up and let her stay," she argued.

"Carmilla, I'm not gonna 'lighten up'- its 6am and I need sleep, and I can't have you and your 'study buddy' keeping me up!"

Carmilla smirked, clearly amused by this whole situation. "If you say she can stay, I'll, ah, let you join in on our little _study session…_" She took a finger and brushed in underneath Laura's chin. "Would you like that, cutie?"

Laura's face became hot and she almost had to catch herself from saying 'okay,' realizing what she had almost agreed to do with _Satan herself_ and some strange girl she thought she recognized from her english course but wasn't sure. "Are you _seri-_ No! Tell Jasmine you're very sorry but she needs to leave because your roommate needs to get some sleep for her big Lit paper!"

"I'm right here, you know," said Jasmine, before grabbing her stuff and awkwardly saying, "I'm just gonna go..." before she left.

Carmilla huffed and scowled at Laura, crawled in bed and went to sleep, seeming to be mad at Laura. _Good_, she thought. _Maybe I put her in her place._


	6. Chapter 6

When she wasn't sleeping, Carmilla seemed to ignore Laura for the rest of the day the next day, and Laura couldn't be happier. Laura thought all was well- until she went out to dinner with her her friends Lafontaine, a science major, and the Floor Don Perry. Because when she came back to her room later that night after dinner, what she found aggravated her beyond belief.

Laura walked into her room to find Carmilla nonchalantly lounging on Laura's bed, reading her diary. Her _private_ diary, that absolutely no one ever was allowed to read. On _her bed!_

Laura ran up to Carmilla. "What the hell do you think you're doing?! That's for my eyes only!"

Carmilla chuckled, still reading the diary. "Shh, listen to this part, this is my favorite- _Dear Diary, today at school every girl in our eighth grade class was paired up with a boy in our class for the school dance tonight. I was assigned to dance with Tommy Waterman. Bleh. His lemon-blonde hair and the way he makes it totally obvious he likes me makes me wanna barf. Every girl is practically in love with him, and out of every girl to like he likes me?! Anyway, I spent basically the whole day being completely jealous of Connor Jarmac, who got paired up with Sophie Gilmore..." _Carmilla was reading out the passage in a swooning, over-dramatic way.

Laura growled. "Stop it, Carmilla! I'm warning you, don't go any farther..."

Carmilla ignored her, amusement in her eyes. "_I can't even describe how beautiful Sophie is- the way her eyes light up, and how her smiles fill the room with light... Oh, journal, I fear that I'm falling in love with her!"_

"Thats _it!"_ Laura growled as Carmilla began to laugh. She grabbed the journal from her black-painted fingertips and threw it far away. "I've had enough of you humiliating me and pissing me off to last a lifetime!"

Carmilla calmed down her fit of laughter. "You really need to learn how to lighten up, buttercup."

Laura frowned, confusion crossing her. "How did you find these, anyway?"

Carmilla sneered. "Duh. You alway hide your journals under your bed."

Laura's heart stopped. Carmilla's eyes widened and her smug smirk was wiped clean off of her face.

"Woah woah, wait. Back up. How… how did you know that?"

Carmilla was suddenly quiet, her face stricken with utter seriousness. She got up from Laura's bed and walked to the fridge. "Um, lucky guess?" she muttered under her breath, grabbing her weird soy milk, which she had decided to write MINE on in red letters, lecturing Laura not to touch it at all. Carmilla made her way to the door, but before she left she said, "I saw you putting your journals under your bed. That's how I knew." And then abruptly left, leaving Laura to her confused thoughts of how this girl she had never met before could possibly know where she hides her diaries, something she's been doing since she was a young girl. She shook her head of the ridiculousness; she had just stated that she had seen her put them under her bed. Laura calmed herself down and began to tidy up the room.

* * *

><p>Danny Lawrence, Laura's literature TA, was lounging late at night on Laura's bed, listening to her ongoing ramble about Carmilla, the spawn of Satan. "And even though every little thing she does and says really gets me mad, I just can't shake this weird feeling like I've met her before, like she's familiar…"<p>

Danny was about to respond, but suddenly broke into a yawn. Laura giggled. "Sorry, Danny. Didn't mean to bore you."

"Oh, God, no, Hollis! You're anything but boring, if you ask me," she said, smiling. "It's just I got like no sleep last night. So much work to do. I better be heading back to my dorm."

"Yeah, of course," said Laura apologetically.

Just before Danny was going to leave, she looked over at Carmilla's bed and sighed. "So there's nothing new about Betty, is there?" Her eyes flicked to one of Carmilla's pairs of black jeans strewn across the bed and Laura swore a sheer look of disgust filled her eyes.

"I wish there was. The faster we find Betty, the faster we get rid of Carmilla. That girls reign of terror and flirting needs to go."

Danny visibly cringed at her name, as well as when Laura mentioned flirting, then continued to yawn again. "Well, if you ever need any help finding leads or asking around about her, anything, just call me, okay? I'll be more than happy to help."

"Of course, Danny. Thank you."

Danny's smile was warm and genuine before she turned and walked out the door. Laura sighed, falling down onto her bed, looking up at the ceiling. She hadn't even realized it, but she felt incredibly tired, too...

Don't fall asleep, Laura, you still have to get into your pajamas and brush your teeth and turn off the lights and finish that work you're thankfully almost done with and...

But as she was rambling on in her head, she slowly drifted into a deep sleep.

* * *

><p>Laura suddenly woke up in darkness. It wasn't completely dark- the light of the torches gave off little light, but it was enough to look around and realize that she was dreaming.<p>

She tried to stand and move her hands out but short metal chains restricted her from much movement. The stone wall behind her was cold and uncomfortable, and she was starting to feel slightly claustrophobic. She tried to call out for help, but it was as if her voice had disappeared. She felt helpless, confused, afraid...

Suddenly Laura felt searing pain in her right wrist, and when she looked down she silently screamed. A cut was being made down her arm and blood began to ooze out, thick and hot and deep red, dripping down her arm. She could hear whispers in the background- a chant in some strange foreign language, one she didn't recognize. It sounded as though they were chanting a ritual, or a spell- Laura just wasn't sure. All she could think about was the massive cut on her arm that stung like crazy. What if she lost too much blood? She was starting to feel a little dizzy, and the chanting was getting louder and louder, and Laura felt herself begin to choke. She wasn't sure why, until she leaned down and coughed, and blood splattered on the stone floor.

Laura had never been so terrified. And the chanting was now so loud it was like screaming in her ears.

Suddenly, the torches seemed to burn a little lighter, their light becoming less harsh and more of a warm, comforting glow. The chanting abruptly stopped, and Laura no longer felt like she was choking. She collapsed to the ground, her wound on her arm still hurting, but the dizziness was subsiding and it seemed like the bleeding was slowing down.

Suddenly, something fell from the ceiling and right in front of her. It was a flower; Laura recognized it to be a calla lily. And although Laura was usually used to calla lilies being a beautiful shade of pure white, this calla lily was deep, dark red. In fact, the more Laura looked at it the darker it looked, and it looked like it was now black.

This flower... It was the most beautiful flower she had ever seen.

Sure, the white calla lilies were pretty; they showed beautiful innocence, a color of white so pure Laura didn't even think was possible to exist. But this flower, its dark, mysterious nature, its little imperfections, the deep black color, it was so much more intriguing and beautiful. Laura was hypnotized by it, wanting to be able to pick it up and caress its soft, slightly jagged petals more than anything in the world.

She suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder, which made her jump a little, but she was too exhausted to have a big reaction. She looked up and almost gasped.  
>Kneeling above her was no other than Carmilla. And Laura could do nothing but break down, and begin to sob.<p>

"Hey, hey, it's okay Laura. I'm here now. You're safe," said Carmilla in a tone Laura had never heard her use before. The tone was gentle and soothing, which was what Laura felt when Carmilla began to tenderly wipe away the tears on Laura's cheeks. No one had ever touched her so... delicately before. And suddenly she stopped crying. And when she looked down, the wound on her arm was gone.

She looked back up at Carmilla, a feeling of relief washing over her, and she couldn't help but smile.

Laura suddenly realized Carmilla's eyes were filled with lust. She felt herself blush a little. The intensity of this gaze Carmilla was giving her was crazy...

Carmilla suddenly began to run her hands down Laura's body, eliciting a gasp from the blonde. She wasn't expecting this at all. Carmilla smirked at the way Laura squirmed under her gentle touch. Carmilla's lips were next to Laura's ear, so close she could feel the brushing against her earlobe and her warm, hot breath against her skin.

"When you wake up I want you to remember this dream," whispered Carmilla so delicately. "Remember how I saved you from drowning in that blood, saved you from that crazy chant. Because now you owe me, and I think you'll know exactly how to repay me..."

* * *

><p>Laura sat up in her bed with a gasp, feeling a little sweaty and out of breath. She looked down, realizing she was under the covers, in her pajamas, with the lights turned off. Laura could have sworn she had forgotten to do all these things, but the moments after Danny left were pretty hazy so she assumed she had gotten ready for bed and just forgotten about it... Right?<p>

When Laura looked around, she almost jumped when she saw Carmilla lounging on the windowsill across the room, thigh high socks and all. Laura realized Carmilla had been looking at her this whole time.

Carmilla looked away, looking up at the sky outside the window and started to light the lighter in her hands, flicking it on and off, on and off.  
>"Bad dream, cupcake?" She said, her voice piercing through the darkness, not looking away from the sky.<p>

Shivers shot down Laura's spine when she heard Carmilla's raspy, mysterious, seductive voice and the dream she had previously just experienced came crashing down on her. She blushed and responded, "Um, I-I guess you could say that," in a small voice.

Laura could see the smirk on her face as she simply responded, "Hm."

"What are you doing?" Laura asked curiously. Carmilla kept the smirk on her face as she responded.

"Just gazing at the stars. Watching their ancient light cast down upon us small, insignificant people." She smiled. "I have every constellation memorized. Every single beautiful one. They are the only thing that really stays constant in my life, the one thing that will never change if I ever need something to comfort me..."

This reminded Laura of that time when she was eleven, when she was on her roof and had thought the same thing. This memory made her think of the black cat as well, and a pang of sadness and nostalgia hit her. She laid back down and covered herself in covers, thinking over the dream she had.

After a few minutes of silence, Laura suddenly blurted, "What's your favorite type of flower?"

_That was such a stupid question_, thought Laura. But Carmilla only chuckled. "That question's awfully random, buttercup," she responded. "What, are you planning on making a bouquet for me?"

Laura felt flustered, and she covered her head with covers. "No! I- you know what, nevermind," she muffled. "It's stupid."

There was a silence that was once again broken eventually, but this time by Carmilla's deep voice. And what came next out of Carmilla's mouth sent Laura's mind reeling and shivers down her whole body.

"Calla lilies," she said. "Especially black ones."


	7. Chapter 7

Laura was still quite concerned with her old roommate Betty's disappearance and the strange note that was left in her place, and because Laura was stubborn she wasn't giving up on trying to find her. She decided to enlist in Lafontaine's help, so she invited her over to see if she was of any help to the situation. Currently, she was in her room, sitting on her bed and talking over the night Betty disappeared, because although the weird multiple-choice note seemed of high importance, they weren't getting anywhere with it. Meanwhile, Carmilla lounged on her own bed, intently reading an old dusty book that was clearly not in English- Laura recognized it to possibly be Greek, but she wasn't sure.

"Are you sure that's all you remember?" asked Lafontaine after Laura had told everything she remembered from that night. "Is there _anything_ else? Anything at all?"

Laura almost replied no, but she was slowly reminded of something. "Well… I do kind of remember the face of this guy, coming at me in a dark… alley, I think. Up until now I thought my mind was just being dramatic. But the more I think about it the more I think it might've happened."

Lafontaine laughed. "Gee, and you didn't think this would be important information at all?"

Laura glared at her. "I wasn't sure if it really happened or not!"

"Just teasing you, Laura. Anything else that you can remember?"

Laura hesitated. There was one other thing that she remembered… Laura was oblivious to Carmilla's head ever so slightly peeking out from behind her book and staring at Laura intently as the conversation paused.

"Well… its more a memory of a feeling than an actual visual memory, but… I remember soft lips, a-and… sharp… sharp teeth, mixed with both… both pain and pleasure, and some sort of _connection_." Laura shut her eyes and shook her head. "I-I don't know. It sounds ridiculous. It must've just been a dream I had that night or something. I was so drunk, I can't tell."

Lafontaine smirked. "Oh, _sure,_ Laura, _sure_ it was just a dream… I think we both well know exactly what that memory means."

Laura blushed and shook her head. "Oh, shut up, Lafontaine! That's not what I meant. I don't think I was actually _kissing_ these lips… I don't think."

Lafontaine suggestively wiggled her eyebrows, which was proceeded by one of Laura's trademark scrunched-up-angry-faces as she slapped her friend on the shoulder.

"Ow!" responded Lafontaine, rubbing her arm. "What? I'm just saying, you said you were really drunk. Pain, pleasure, lips, connection… that all _screams_ evidence of something sexual."

Suddenly, Carmilla put her book down loudly and turned her head towards them, the two girls looking over as well. Carmilla smirks, which sends goosebumps down Laura's body.

"Mhm," Carmilla chuckled in a breathy, short way. "Well, how about that. Creampuff here got some lady action after downing her hundredth shot of booze. Now THAT is a topic I'll be interested in partaking in."

Laura felt her face turn a deep shade of red. Carmilla smirked once again, looking satisfied, going right back to her old Greek book.

Lafontaine looked at Laura with a confused expression. Laura simply rolled her eyes as a silent response, but couldn't help but smile a little when Lafontaine wasn't looking.

Later that night, when Laura was fast asleep, Carmilla came bustling into the dorm room, coming back from one of her routinely mysterious night trips. She wasn't putting any effort into being quiet, and Laura woke to the sound of Carmilla's feet loudly hitting the floor as she walked into the room, slamming the door.

Laura moaned, sitting up a little and turning on her bedside light. She glared over at Carmilla, who kicked off her shoes and threw herself on her bed, not even bothering to change out of her black shorts with thigh-high socks.

Laura continued to glare. "Could you be any louder?" Laura checked the time on her phone and scoffed. "Its 2 in the freaking morning! What, are your feet made of lead or something?"

Carmilla smirked. "Good one, cherry pie."

Laura rolled her eyes. "Would you stop giving me pet names? Especially those that have to do with delicious edibles?"

Carmilla simply chuckled, a mischievous look glinting in her eyes.

Laura's harsh tone of voice calmed as she asked the next question on her mind. "Where were you, anyway? Where do you go every night?"

Carmilla looked over at Laura, staring right into her eyes. "Well, I have to keep some of my secrets. Otherwise, I'd lose my aire of mystery, wouldn't I?"

Laura felt her heart speed up. What Carmilla had just said… It felt so familiar. She couldn't put her finger on it but she got that feeling of familiarity once again. But this time, it wasn't in a creepy, mysterious way, but more of a comforting, trusting way.

A long silence followed this, involving Laura looking down at her hands in deep thought and Carmilla stealing glances at the small girl.

Laura was suddenly feeling nostalgic. Something about the thing that Carmilla had just said was bringing back the feeling of innocence and childhood, playing in the park and staring lovingly out the window at the cat that was always there for her...

Laura sighed, breaking the silence, and looked at Carmilla.

"Do you ever miss anything from your childhood? Like, something that was a big part of your life? Something you looked up to?"

Laura had no idea where this question had come from, but it had just flew out of her mouth. An Laura wasn't regretting it at all. Carmilla continued to look at Laura silently, not answering her question, but the look she was giving her was thoughtful and she looked intrigued, like she wanted Laura to continue with where she was going with what she just asked. So Laura stood, walking over and sitting down on the foot of Carmilla's bed. Laura was half expecting for her roommate to yell at her to use her own damn bed, but Carmilla seemed to be completely satisfied with it. In fact, she scooted a little closer to Laura.

Laura felt the need to talk to Carmilla, to pour her feelings out. It was a sudden need, a desperate one.

"When I was growing up... there was this cat," she began, pausing and looking over to make sure Carmilla was interested in what she was saying. To say Carmilla looked interested was an understatement, so Laura happily continued.

"From around age six, I used to look out my window, and only at night could I see this black cat. It was always perched on the branches of a big oak tree just outside my window, reassuringly watching over me. It was there, every single night. And it was always there for me, for me to talk to, to have someone there when I was crying, or lonely, or spinning around the room because I won hide and seek or I got an A on a spelling test or when I had my first real kiss with a girl at school... It was always there. It went through everything I went through. And it got me through all of the really hard stuff." Laura could tell her eyes were sparkling with memories, and she could have sworn Carmilla smiled ever so slightly.

Laura felt the pang of sadness and nostalgia hit her again as she continued. "Until one day, when I was around 13, it... vanished. It was gone. I desperately looked out my window every night for a while after that, but it wasn't there. And in my high school years, I kinda just gave up looking. But recently, I-I saw it again, the night I finished packing up my room, for coming here. I… I had never been so happy and relieved to see anything in my entire life." Laura gestured over to a pile of papers sitting on her desk. "All of that paper over there? It was everything I made in my childhood that had to do with that black cat. The stuff I couldn't bear to throw away."

Laura looked back at Carmilla. Carmilla had an unreadable emotion strewn across her face. She continued to sit in silence, thoughtfully staring at her roommate, processing the moment.

"I don't know why it ever left though," Laura sighed. "I don't think I'll ever know."

There was a silence once again. And when Carmilla's voice broke it, Laura almost jumped at the sound.

"Maybe... Maybe it was making sure you hadn't forgotten about it. That you didn't feel like it bailed on you for the past few years. Because it really was there for you, and it feels sorry for ever leaving."

Laura looked at Carmilla in amazement. She had never seen her in such a caring, thoughtful mood. And everything she had said made her feel so... comforted. Laura couldn't suppress the large grin that came onto her face.

Carmilla looked down, realizing just how tender and emotional she was being. "Or, I dunno, maybe it just found your annoying rambling too much to bear and booked out of there. Because, seriously, you know how to talk." She was trying to cover up the kindness she had just shown, but Laura knew she was just embarrassed and began to laugh.

Laura couldn't help but notice how pretty Carmilla looked in the dim lighting, dark hair hanging around her face and the dim light glowing on her skin, and when Carmilla looked up at her with those deep, soulful eyes Laura couldn't hold it in any longer. Before Laura had time to process what she was doing, she leaned over and kissed Carmilla's cheek.

Laura, expecting a heinous response from her roommate, didn't stick around for Carmilla to make fun of her or yell at her or whatever she was planning. So she ran over to her own bed, shut off the lights, and covered herself in her covers before she could process what she had just done.

What she didn't see was Carmilla, still sitting up, stock-still from the shock of the kiss. Slowly, she raised a hand to the cheek that had been kissed and brushed her hand along it, still feeling where Laura's lips had touched her cold skin.

For the first time in a very long time, Carmilla truly, genuinely smiled.


	8. Chapter 8

Laura had decided that she would go out for a walk, just outside of campus in a little nearby town. Weirdly enough, she couldn't stop thinking about the night with Carmilla and the fact that she had kissed her on the cheek. It had only happened a few days ago and ever since then she hadn't seen her roommate much, given that she was practically nocturnal and they were almost never in the dorm at the same time. But still, she couldn't stop thinking about her...

_What are you doing, Hollis? _She thought. _Your roommate is unorganized, day-sleeping, sarcastic, self-centered, rarely emotional, overly flirtatious, kinda… kinda sexy..._

Laura shook her head, stopping herself. Not too long ago she couldn't stand a single thing her roommate did.

Before her thoughts could develop further, something caught her eye. She was at the corner of the street, and just to her left next to a supermarket was a flower stand. An array of colors bombarded Laura's eyes, but this wasn't what caught her attention. She couldn't possibly miss it, the beautiful curve of those delicate, dark petals...

Next to a group of red roses was no other than a group of black calla lilies. Laura slowly walked up to them, not able to take her eyes off of them. She gently rubbed her thumb and forefinger across the smooth, black surface.

"Beautiful, aren't they?" came the voice from the lady behind the stand.

"They're incredible," Laura almost whispered, not looking up from them.

An idea came into her mind.

"How much will it be for one of these?"

* * *

><p>Laura walked into her dorm, sighing and putting down her stuff on her bed. She turned, noticing Carmilla asleep.<p>

Laura squinted. Carmilla was sleeping on a bright yellow pillow, one that looks just like hers... Wait, it _was_ hers! Carmilla was using her pillow!

Laura scoffed loudly, but she had to admit the sight of the raven haired girl sleeping on her yellow pillow gave her butterflies... Carmilla, hearing her scoff, began to stir, turning around and blinking her sleepy eyes. She smirked when she saw Laura looking down at her and propped herself up on her elbow.

"Mornin', cutie," she said groggily.

Laura blushed just a bit, but then rolled her eyes. "It's 4pm."

Carmilla shrugged. "Counts as morning to me."

"Is that my pillow?" Laura asked.

Carmilla chuckled. "Yeah."

"Um... Why are you sleeping with my pillow?"

Amusement filled her dark eyes. "What, you didn't know? We're in a relationship now. As of a few hours ago." She smirked at her own joke.

Laura rolled her eyes. "Ha, ha. Very funny. Stop being so cute."

This caught Carmilla's attention and after Laura had said it she realized that if she ever wanted to get over these romantic thoughts about her Satan-equivalent roommate she shouldn't be partaking in the constant flirting, which is only encouraging her to do it more. But it was too late now.

Camilla sat up, still smirking at Laura. "I couldn't if I tried, sundance," she said seductively. "Especially not for you."

Laura felt as if someone were setting off fireworks in her stomach as her cheeks began to feel warm.

_This is it. This is the perfect moment. I need to do it now. Oh, God, Hollis, what are you getting yourself into?_

Laura turned and walked to her bed, unzipping her backpack and pulling the _thankfully not damaged _flower out of her bag. She looked down at it, looking at it a little longer before quickly walking back over to Carmilla and slowly holding it out towards her. She tucked back a piece of blonde hair and waited for Carmilla's reaction.

At first, there was utter silence. Carmilla was looking at the flower with a blank expression. Laura began to panic- what if it was too much? What if she went too far?  
>But suddenly, a swell of emotions seemed to hit Carmilla all at the same time as her lips slightly parted in amazement. She slowly reached out and took the flower from her, holding it so gently and with such tenderness it was as if she was taking a hummingbird with broken wings from Laura's hand.<p>

Carmilla studied the flower for a few moments, her eyes scanning the dark, delicate petals, before they flicked up towards Laura.

Her eyes looked hungry—hungry for Laura, like Carmilla had been been waiting for her, for this moment, for a thousand years. But even still, she stayed completely silent. Eerily silent. Like there was nothing to say, nothing _needed_ to say. She seemed to be perfectly happy drinking in the sight of Laura and her adorably flushed cheeks.

"I-I saw it on the walk back from town at a flower stand," stuttered Laura, breaking the silence. "...I t-thought you might like it."

Carmilla sucked her bottom lip into her teeth, looking back down at the flower and then back up at Laura. And suddenly, Carmilla smiled, sending electricity up Laura's spine. Laura had never felt quite like this before.

Carmilla suddenly stood up, walking over to the sink and filling a glass with water. She gently put the lily in the glass and set it next to her bed. After this, Carmilla turned to Laura and began to slowly walk towards her, getting closer and closer, Laura's heart beating faster and faster as she resisted the urge to back up from the intimidating yet extremely sexy girl…

Carmilla leaned forward and placed her lips right next to Laura's left cheek. Carmilla hovered them over her skin for a moment before kissing her cheek so softly, so lightly, her lips barely brushed against her skin. It felt like a whisper, almost there but not quite.

Carmilla smirked against Laura's cheek when Laura let out a soft, whimpering noise that she didn't even mean to release. Carmilla was clearly teasing her, and she was doing a _damn_ good job of it.

"It's beautiful," Carmilla whispered softly. Laura could feel Carmilla's warm breath on her cheek. Laura felt herself shudder ever so slightly.

And with that, Carmilla turned, grabbed a bag full of her stuff, and walked towards the door. But just before she walked through the doorway she looked back at Laura and smirked, before turning back around and walking off to some unknown, mysterious location, leaving Laura to practically melt in the spot she was standing in. She walked over to Carmilla's bed, snatching her pillow back and putting it on her own before falling down back into the fluffy comforters, sighing.

"Worst. Crush. Ever."


	9. Chapter 9

**Heres chapter 9! We see a little bit of Danny here... Please review, it makes my day :)**

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><p>Carmilla sighed, walking through the door to her dorm. The lights were dimly lit and Carmilla's eyes were just adjusting when-<p>

"Hey, Carmilla," came a voice from Laura's bed.

Carmilla nearly jumped a hundred feet in the air, bounding like a cat onto her own bed from surprise. When she saw who the voice came from, she squinted her eyes and growled. It was only Danny, Laura's stupid literature class TA from the Summer Society. Laura sometimes went on and on about how 'cute and tall and pretty' she was, and to say Carmilla was jealous... Well, she hated to admit it, but it was a total understatement.

"Woah! Sorry I scared you. Don't bite my head off or anything," she said jokingly.

"I'll try my best, but no promises," she grumbled inaudibly. Then, louder, she asked, "What are you doing here?"

Danny sighed. "Oh, well, Laura and I are trying to figure out what happened to Betty, since, of course, no one at this school really seems to care at all…" She closed her eyes and shook her head. "God, this school is so crazy sometimes. Giant mushrooms attacking the students? Girl goes missing? Who cares! I can't believe this school and their nerve..."

Carmilla only continues to scowl at the redhead. She then picked up a book and began reading. Without looking up from her book, she asked, "And where's the cupcake now?"

Danny gave her a quizzical look. "Cupcake? Oh! You mean Laura. She's just in the bathroom."

As if on cue, Laura emerged from the other side of the room. She noticed Carmilla sitting there and felt her stomach go into knots. "Oh, hey Carm... I-I didn't know you were here."

Carmilla looked up from her book, liking her new nickname. She gave Laura a smirk and an extremely subtle wink before looking back down at her book.

Danny looked at Laura and raised an eyebrow with a frown. Laura ignored the look and Danny decided not to question her, especially with Carmilla around.  
>"Okay so tell me again. Everything you remember," said Danny to Laura.<p>

Laura sighed. "We've been over this like a million times already! Besides the man, the lips, and the simultaneous feeling of pain and pleasure, I don't remember a thing. We need to try something else."

All of a sudden, a guy with nice muscles and a cute face walked in. Laura recognized it to be Kirsch, one of the Zeta's. He smiled and looked around.  
>"Hey little hotties. Well, two little, one... Not so little. I mean <em>damn<em>-"

Danny gave Kirsch the death glare. "Okay, Kirsch, we get it, I'm ridiculously tall. Move on!"

Kirsch nodded. "Right. Sorry. So, you called me?"

Laura gave Danny a quizzical look. "Ummm, Danny? Why'd you invite Kirsch?"

Danny smiled. "Well, since he was the one who set up and hosted the party that night, I thought he might know something."

Kirsch looked confused. "Know something about what?"

The two girls filled Kirsch in about Betty and how she had disappeared. They described what she looked like and what she was wearing, asking if he remembers anything.

Kirsch scratched his head. "A blonde chick in a pink halter top? Sorry, little nerd hottie, but that sounds like just about every chick at the party." He gave Laura a dopey smile. "I hit like so many blonde's at that party, and also at last nights party. Man, you should've seen this one chick, Rebecca-"  
>"Kirsch!" Danny interrupted. "Off topic! This is serious. A girl has gone missing. Doesn't that mean anything to you?"<p>

Kirsch sighed. "Sorry, psycho society. But you know how big of an appreciation I have for the ladies..." He began to smile and nod his head.  
>Carmilla smirked and chuckled loudly from behind her book. The three looked over at her as she laughed.<br>"Don't we all, Kirsch," she said is a slow, drawn out voice, a suggestive smirk playing on her lips. "Don't we all..." She then proceeded to lower her book and looked right at Laura.

Laura's face quickly turned bright red and she looked down, trying to calm down her beating heart. Meanwhile, Danny looked back and forth between the two, clearly looking confused.

Kirsch suddenly broke the silence with a laugh, and then proceeded with, "Well, I better get going. We gotta clean up the Zeta house from last night's party. It looks like a freakin' tornado hit the place. See ya! Hope you find, uh... Breanna!"

Danny rolled her eyes as Kirsch walked out the door. "Well he was a lot of help," she said sarcastically once he was out of range to hear.  
>Laura laughed. "You think? It's Kirsch. The poor guy can't tell the difference between right and left."<p>

Danny put a hand to her forehead. "Okay, so maybe he wasn't the best person to ask... Have you tried going back to the Zeta house and asking anyone if they remember Betty being there, if they saw anything?"

Laura nodded. "Yeah. They had nothing. Everyone said that the picture I showed them looked too much like so many of the girls they had seen that night."  
>Danny sighed, looking defeated. "Maybe... Maybe we should give up. There's nothing else we can do..."<p>

Laura looked down. "I don't usually like giving up, but… I think you might be right." She looked up at Danny. "Well, thank you so much anyway, for being here for me through all of this. I… I don't know what I'd do without your help. So... thank you. I really appreciate your company."

Danny beamed at Laura. "Of course, Hollis," she said softly.  
>Carmilla felt like she was going to hurl. She could see <em>exactly<em> where this was going- and she didn't like it at all.

Danny leaned in. Carmilla wanted to shut her eyes, but couldn't bring herself to do it. And just as their lips were about to touch…

Laura backed away.

"Woah, Danny… I…" Laura began, eyes wide.

Danny had a puzzled expression. "But… I thought you wanted this."

Carmilla could have sworn Laura's eyes darted over at Carmilla for half a second, who was now peering over her book, quite interested. "Um… things have changed, since then. I'm… it's confusing. This really isn't a good time for me to… other, other things have come up."

Carmilla couldn't help it. She had to smirk at this. Laura wa _totally_ talking about her and what had happened between them last night. She felt as she had successfully marked her territory, and Carmilla couldn't feel more satisfied with herself.

Danny backed up and scoffed, her face twitching in annoyance. She looked quite offended. "What? Is that even possible, Laura? We had a conversation about this, like, yesterday."

Laura closed her eyes, her hands shaking. "As I said before, things have changed-"

"In a 24-hour period?!"

"Danny-"

"You know what? No," growled Danny, suddenly standing. "If I'm really not worth it to you, if so much has '_changed' _ that you can't even _think_ about kissing me, then fine. Whatever, Hollis. Go on and _change_ some more, for all I care." She turned to Carmilla and squinted her eyes at the smirking brunette, who was clearly enjoying this. "This is because of you, isn't it?" She turned to Laura again. "I can't believe I'm being rejected over Elvira, Mistress of the Snark!"

Ooh. Ouch. Carmilla had to scrunch up her face in disgust at that one.

"Danny, no, that's not-" Laura cried. But Danny was already approaching the door, not giving any time for Carmilla to say a word or for Laura to explain herself.

"Fuck off, Laura," she yelled without turning around. "Don't call me." The door slammed behind her, and the two were left alone in eerie silence.

Suddenly, Laura began to cry. It started off as a small, guttural sound, but quickly developed into stifled sobs. She didn't cover her face, she didn't throw herself on the bed- she simply sat there, crying, in the utter vulnerability of Carmilla's presence.

Carmilla simply watched as Laura continued to cry, wanting crack a sarcastic joke, such as 'stop it, cupcake, you're making a complete idiot of yourself,' but this moment between them felt too intimate, too tender to say something so harsh. Laura was allowing herself to be at her weakest right in front of Carmilla. One little nudge and all hopes of Laura ever trusting Carmilla like this again would be shattered and lost. So Carmilla decided to continue how she was- watching Laura silently and thoughtfully, realizing that it was amazing how incredibly beautiful Laura was even when she cried. Carmilla hadn't had such a tender and romantic thought about anyone in a very long time.


	10. Chapter 10

**Just a clarifier for people who've been asking why Laura doesn't remember Carmilla- there is a reason why she doesn't remember Carmilla due to mysterious reasons... ;) so stay tuned and find out more! Please review, favorite, follow, etc. I hope you all enjoy this chapter (I have a feeling you will :) )**

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><p>"Ow! Crap," Laura exclaimed as the sharp scissors sliced through her finger. Immediately a dark red line of blood began to ooze from her index finger, and Laura winced from the throbbing pain. Today really wasn't her day- first, she made Danny totally hate her, and now she almost practically sliced the end of her finger off while trying to do homework. Laura let out a groan, keeping her finger elevated so she wouldn't get blood on Carmilla's sheets.<p>

Yes, that was right-she was sitting on Carmilla's bed. She wasn't sure why, but it just looked so… inviting. And comfortable.

Carmilla suddenly walked through the doors. She immediately noticed that Laura was on her bed and smirked.

"You're laying on my bed, creampuff," she stated, as if Laura wasn't aware. "How... stalker-ish of you." Amusement glimmered in Carmilla's eyes.

Laura rolled her eyes. "I'm _not_ a stalker. I just felt like laying in your bed."

"Obsessed with me much?"

Laura blushed. "I'm not- oh, nevermind. Hey, can you get me a bandage? I accidentally cut my finger."

Carmilla's eyes glanced down, darkening around the edges as her smirk melted off of her face. Licking her lips, she looked back up at Laura and nodded, retrieving a bandage from Laura's endless supply of first aid, due to her overprotective dad. As she walked back, Laura sat up, locking her eyes with Carmilla's.

Carmilla stood over her, just looking at her for a little bit before slowly taking Laura's hand and raising it to...

... her mouth.

Laura watched with a fast-beating heart as Carmilla put Laura's bloody finger to her lips and inside her mouth. All while still keeping her eyes on the blonde, she began to very _suggestively_ clean her finger of blood. Laura couldn't help but let out a small whimper in surprise, hey eyes wide.

Carmilla smirked as she removed Laura's finger from her mouth and wrapped it with the band-aid.

"There," she said with a deep, raspy voice, giving Laura shivers. "All better."

Laura was at a loss for words. She tried to make coherent thoughts in her mind but nothing was coming. "Um, t-t-thanks," Laura finally stuttered, blushing. "I-it, uh, already feels... Feels better."

Carmilla chuckled. "Well, I'm going to bed early tonight, so I'm gonna need my bed vacant," she said. "Unless, of course, you want to stay and join me..."

Laura sprung off of Carmilla's bed, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear, her face more red than a cherry. "N-no, I'm okay!" She squeaked a little too loud. "Goodnight."

"Mhm. Night, cutie," she sighed, moving Laura's homework and laying on her bed, once again not bothering to change into more comfortable clothes before closing her eyes and quickly drifting into sleep. Laura let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding, her heart still pounding in her chest.

_Damn it, Laura, pull yourself together…_

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><p>Laura took another tissue from the tissue box and began to blow her nose for what felt like the millionth time. She sighed, pulling the blanket that was wrapped around her closer to her shivering body, and continue to type away at her computer. She almost never got sick, but this cold-fever combo was really getting to her. Snow was coming down steadily outside and all Laura wanted to do was curl up in her bed and sleep off the sickness, but she knew she had so much to do for her classes. Her Lit class started in less than an hour and she needed to finish this paper…<p>

The door opened and in walked Carmilla. Despite the extremely cold weather, Carmilla still wore her iconic leather pants and a shirt that exposed her stomach, as if the cold didn't bother her even a little. Laura turned in her chair at the desk, rubbing herself to try and generate a little extra heat. She was surprised Carmilla hadn't come in sooner; it was already 10:30 am and usually Carmilla came back to their room from her mysterious nighttime activities earlier than that so she could sleep the day away. "You're back later than usual," said Laura, her voice coming out rough and hoarse.

Carmilla noticed the change in Laura's voice and looked over at her before she took her soy milk out of the fridge and drank it straight from the carton. Putting it back, she said, "Well you look like crap. And I don't wanna catch whatever you have."

Laura scoffed. "Thanks. How nice of you."

Carmilla shrugged. "Don't expect sympathy from me, sweetheart. I rarely sympathize for anyone. Especially those who are simply going through a common cold."

Laura was about to respond, when she suddenly felt nauseous, and-

She grabbed the trash can as quick as possible, feeling the contents of her stomach empty into it. Once she was done, she groaned, coughing.

Carmilla walked over to her. "Okay, so… I guess this is a little worse than a cold."

"You think?" she growled to her raven-haired roommate.

"Seriously, though. You seem really sick," Carmilla said. "I don't think you should be leaving our room today, especially in this blizzard."

Laura sighed. "But I have really important things I need to do and finish for my classes today!"

"I think they'll understand, given your… condition," Carmilla said, looking her roommate up and down. "Now, go and throw out the contents of that trash can before it makes the whole room smell like an animal died in here. And I'll…" She paused, looking at Laura, her dark eyes softening. "I can, um, make you some tea, if you want…?"

She tried to make this come out casually, like it was no big deal, but Laura knew that although Carmilla made a big effort to hide it, she really did care about Laura.

A smile slowly crawled onto Laura's lips. "Yeah, t-that would be great. Thanks."

Carmilla shrugged. "Yeah, well, I just want you to get better as fast as possible before you puke over all my stuff."

Laura scoffed, but couldn't help smiling. She dumped the trash out and sluggishly walked over to her bed, falling into its soft embrace. Laura let out a sigh and crawled under her covers, positioning the yellow pillow underneath her. She had to admit she already felt better.

Carmilla walked over with her Doctor Who mug, handing it to her. Laura uttered out a thank you, positioning herself to take a sip. Carmilla smiled, sitting next to Laura on the edge of the bed.

Laura's eyes began to droop and she was feeling extremely tired all of a sudden. She put down her mug and rubbed one eye, laying down and brushing the sweat that was forming on her feverish forehead. Carmilla smiled and pulled the covers farther over her shoulders, watching as Laura drifted into a deep sleep…


	11. Chapter 11

When Laura woke up again, she was shivering violently. She could hear the blizzard outside getting worse, the wind whipping around and rattling the window softly. She opened her eyes, blinking the fuzziness out of them. She glanced over at her wall clock that read 2:30 pm. She had only been sleeping for a few hours, but her sluggishness and lack of energy made her feel like she had slept for an eternity. The shivering wasn't helping much- she was shaking so violently her body was in pain, a soreness that felt like it could only be achieved through running about 50 marathons in a row. Her body was covered in sweat and she felt nauseous.

"C-C-Carm…" Laura called out weakly. "Where… w-where are…you...? C… Ca…"

She felt something suddenly shake the end of her bed. She assumed it was Carmilla crawling onto her bed, but…

If Laura could find the energy, she would have gasped very loudly. She couldn't believe her eyes. She felt the blood drain from her body as the all too familiar round, yellow eyes blinked at her.

The black cat was casually walking up to her head, careful not to step on Laura with one of its massive black paws. Its sun charm collar glinted in the dim light.

Laura's shivers became worse as the huge black cat's face was suddenly right in front of hers. She scanned its facial features up and down in utter shock. She couldn't believe it was here. This wasn't possible. She _had_ to be dreaming.

The cat twitched its whiskers and flared its nose repeatedly sniffing her. Its tongue suddenly made contact with Laura's cheek. Laura inhaled sharply in surprise. Its tongue was rough, but… soothing. It continued to repeatedly lick her face, slowly moving down towards her chin and then to her chest. Laura closed her eyes and let out a wary chuckle. This was all too surreal. She slowly reached a hand towards its side and began to brush its charcoal black fur, shuddering at how realistically soft it felt.

The cat somehow nudged a good portion of the covers off of Laura and laid down next to her, smashing itself right up against the girls side. Laura couldn't help but once again notice how huge it was; laying down by her side, the length of its body went from her head almost down to her knees. She wasn't even sure if it was a cat anymore; it was more like some sort of panther.

Its soft, warm fur soothed Laura and eased her shivers. A pleasant feeling came up into her gut as the cat nuzzled its head in the crook of her neck. She turned towards it to wrap an arm around its neck and bury her face into its velvet fur, tangling her fingers into the midnight-colored fuzz. Her whole body felt like it was surrounded by a black cloud and her fever had calmed down significantly. She finally felt relaxed, her eyelids drooping once again.

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><p><em>Laura had never been so terrified.<em>

_She looked upon the fight scene in horror, Carmilla's struggling body wrestling with someone completely unfamiliar to her. He had short dark hair, but the two were fighting and moving around so fast, that was all Laura could see. Laura was trying to call out to Carmilla, to run over and help her but she couldn't move or speak and she didn't know why. She was stuck in place, forced to watch Carmilla take one bloody blow after another from this clearly powerful person. He just kept hitting and hitting, and at this point Carmilla could barely stay up, sinking to her knees._

_This wasn't a fair fight. Hell, this wasn't even a fight. It was just Carmilla being hit over, and over, and over again, and every time she was hit Laura felt her heart break a little bit more. This guy was clearly stronger. He was beating Carmilla to a pulp. Carmilla was going to die._

_Laura couldn't let that happen. There was no way. But still, no matter what she did, she could not move a muscle. She tried to cry out but nothing came._

_There was blood everywhere. It was even on Laura. And it was all Carmilla's blood. _

_The boy was standing over her now. She cowered in fear, throwing her hands up in front of her face, yelling, "Please! Don't! Please... You've done enough," Carmilla pleaded. But he raised his hand, ready to deliver the final, lethal blow._

_Laura couldn't take it any longer. She pushed with all of her might to move, make a sound of any sort._

_Still nothing._

_She wanted to scream. She wanted to cry. But she simply could not do anything. Anger, fear, sadness, every emotion pumped through her veins like liquid fire. All she wanted to do was help her raven-haired roommate. But she couldn't. And she felt utterly ashamed._

_Laura's stomach made a sickening lurch as the boy began to make the final blow-_

Laura jolted awake, her eyes flying open.

"CARMILLA!" She immediately yelled, the dream still her reality. Laura was drenched in sweat, panting and feeling a bit delirious still. She had started shivering even worse than before and her fever had gotten worse. That dream clearly did a number on her.

"Its okay, cupcake, I'm right here."

Carmilla had said this from... Behind her?

She turned in her bed, still laying down, to the side that faced the wall, surprised to see Carmilla there, who was also laying down… right next to her.

Laura was immediately aware of how close Carmilla was to her body. Her roommates hands made their way to Laura's face, one resting on one of her feverish cheeks and the other tangling itself in her hair. Their legs immediately intertwined, and she could feel their hips brushing together ever so slightly.

"Y-You're okay," Laura breathed between violent shivers, relieved. "I was so... So worried... I-I tried to help you... There was, was so much b-blood... I was going to l-l-lose you forever..." Laura could feel her fuzzy, unclear brain pouring out its contents with no filter. She felt like she was losing it. It was all surreal.

"Shhh, cutie," Carmilla silenced her by putting a finger to her mouth. "It was just a dream. I'm right here, and I'm not going anywhere. I promise. You're safe." Carmilla brought Laura's head into her shoulder and stroked her hair softly, her other hand on her back trying to smooth out her shivers. "Just relax and go to sleep…"

Carmilla's sweet floral scent soothed Laura, and she felt her shivers slowly begin to die down. Her breathing slowed and her heavy eyelids began to fall as she focused on the way Carmilla was touching her, like every nerve in her body was being soothed by her gentle hands. Laura could tell that when she would fall asleep this time, only good dreams would come and greet her.


	12. Chapter 12

**Sorry its been a while since I've updated! I may sometimes take long, unexpected breaks and I apologize in advance for them. I was having a bit of writers block, mixed with some troubles in my own crazy life... lol. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the new chapter! Please review and tell me what you think!**

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><p>Laura had decided to take a walk around the Silas campus the next day to clear her head, trying to recover from her recent sickness. Everything that had happened, from the cat, to Carmilla soothing her after witnessing her roommate on the verge of death, she couldn't remember what was real and what was fake, what had actually happened and what was just her delirious imagination…<p>

Laura tried to focus on her surroundings to clear her mind. Everything was covered in pure white from the recent blizzard. It almost looked magical- the barren trees, the frosted grass, the evergreens dusted with crystals of snow, students running around the winter wonderland in cozy hats and gloves; Laura couldn't help but be more than excited for the holiday season this year.

Laura put her cold hands in her pockets and let out a small sigh, watching her visible breath curl and undulate from her mouth. Carmilla had been so caring towards her lately, and Laura couldn't help but feel this attraction...

Laura never finished her thought as she turned the corner. She stopped dead in her tracks when she laid eyes on what was sitting right in front of her.

It sauntered over to Laura, as if it was completely normal for it to be there. Its stark black fur contrasted the snow-covered ground, its yellow eyes gazing up at Laura in that same way. Its neck was adorning the same beautiful red collar and sun charm.

Laura was at a loss for words. Was her fever-induced dream about the cat not really a dream after all? Did this thing somehow follow her all the way to college? Was that even possible? How had someone not noticed by now that there was a giant black cat the size of a large dog, maybe even larger, wandering around the campus?

After the initial shock, all Laura could feel was happiness. She ran over to the creature and stopped in front of it. Slowly, tentatively, she reached out her hand, and began to scratch it behind the ears. It closed its eyes, pushing its head into her hands.

She realized this was the first time she had ever touched the cat, not counting when she was sick and it was unclear to her if it had actually happened. It was a feeling beyond anything she had ever felt.

She began to walk, the cat following her every footstep right by her side. They walked in silence for some time, watching the snowflakes swirl down from the sky in an elegant dance. Laura looked down and smiled wide at the cat's beautifully thick black fur, snowflakes sprinkled across its back and on its head, looking like stars standing against a soft, midnight sky.

"You're very beautiful, aren't you?" said Laura, gazing at its long, lean, muscular body and its massive paws. The cat twitched its whiskers in response, looking satisfied with Laura's words. She stroked its head once again.

"I've felt so empty without you," Laura sighed, walking over to a bench. She dusted the snow off of it and sat down, the cat jumping up in the space next to her. Laura grinned. "But I feel so much better now that you're here."

The cat gazed at her with its huge, yellow eyes. Laura was half expecting the cat to say something in response, which was ridiculous, of course. But at this point, the fact that it was here with her in Austria was so unbelievable, she wouldn't be surprised if it sat up and started singing.

"I want to thank you," Laura blurted. The cat just continued to stare at her with sun-colored eyes. "For always being there for me when I was a kid. You don't understand how much I appreciated your presence. You helped me through so much... So, thank you." She stared at the cat a little longer before placing a hand behind its ears, leaning forward, and placing a light, lingering kiss on its nose.

When Laura finally pulled back, the cat appeared to be smiling, just like old times. Its eyes were wild with emotion. It nudged its head into the crevice between Laura's neck and shoulder before jumping down to the ground and running off before she could do anything about it.

Laura sighed as she watched it disappear in the distance and wondered when she would see it again. She hoped it was soon.

Laura continued walking around the campus thinking about the cat. She walked for hours, watching students hurry to their classes and throw snowballs at each other. Laughter filled the crisp, cold air and Laura couldn't be happier.

When she realized how dark it was getting, she made her way back to her dorm.

As she walked down the hallway, she noticed how quiet it was in the halls. It wasn't a normal silence; it was the kind that rings in your ears and makes you feel eerily uncomfortable, like the air is hanging in suspense, waiting for something to happen. Laura tried to ignore it as she got out her keys to her dorm.

She heard footsteps coming down the hallway. At first, Laura didn't acknowledge it, assuming it was just some girl walking to her dorm. But when the girl was getting close, she turned. Realizing it was Carmilla, she smiled.

"Hey," Laura called out, still smiling.

Carmilla, still adorning those tight leather pants, continued to walk toward her, a small smirk on her face. Laura was confused- why was Carmilla smirking like that? She was about to ask when Carmilla began to slow her walk when she got some feet away from the blonde, her walk becoming less of a walk and more of a slow, sensual stride... Laura was suddenly very distracted by this and all of her thoughts quickly started to become incoherent.

Suddenly, Carmilla was just inches away from her face. Laura was in no hurry to complain. Instead, she just looked deep into her roommates dark eyes, trying to read her thoughts, to understand what she was thinking. Carmilla's eyes did the same, scanning the blonde's eyes as if it were a window to her soul, before simply saying three words.

"You're welcome, cutie."

Laura was confused- what did she mean by 'you're welcome'? What was she talking about? But at this moment, she really couldn't think, because before she could comprehend what was happening Carmilla interlaced her hand through Laura's blonde hair and brought her closer.

When Carmilla's lips brushed her own, it ignited something deep inside of her, something Laura had never felt before. It was like all of these emotions she never even knew she had were set free and swirling around inside of her body, making her feel alive in a way that was unexplainable. The kiss was soft, gentle, like a dream, and Laura almost couldn't believe it was happening it was such an amazing feeling.

Carmilla pulled back, looking into Laura's eyes. She smirked. "You have _no idea_ how long I've been wanting to do that."

Laura had so many questions swimming around in her brain, but when she looked down, they were all answered. She understood now why she had said 'you're welcome.'

Because Carmilla had the ever-familiar silver sun choker necklace around her neck. Laura couldn't believe she hadn't realized it before. Carmilla _was the black cat._


End file.
